Catching up (in pics)

Thank goodness last week is over!! I'm ready to get back to a normal summer pace of life.

I have a lot of catching up to do, but I thought I'd catch up via a small photo dump of phone pics.

Here we go....

Nice photo bomb, Jack.

This is a follow-up from [this post].  Just wanting to document that she wore the mittens to Sarah's softball game.  It was 95 degrees.

I couldn't convince her to leave them at home.

As soon as we sat down, she took them off and put them in my purse. 

They're still in there.  My purse is a black hole of trash and kid junk... as you may remember from [this post].


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Jack loves to read to Caroline.  Here he's reading her a bedtime story.  So sweet!

BUT it's also sweet that she lets him read to her.  Most of the time he's asking comprehension questions as he reads.   That's probably why she has that look of concentration on her face.

She wants to get 100 on the quiz.

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My niece, Kate, turned 3 on Wednesday the 19th.  We went to my sister's house for pizza and cake on Father's Day to celebrate. 

The cousins had a great time together!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATE!

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Friday night we went to church to watch the Fine Arts Camp production of "Colossal Coaster World".  It was our VBS theme.  Over 200 kids performed.  They did a great job!

(Sarah's front row, yellow Tshirt, purple headband, purple skirt)

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Today is Dad's 65th birthday.  The kids made him a dog at Build A Bear workshop and recorded messages for him. 

Although I have NO idea what Dad's going to do with a stuffed dog, they sure had fun making it for him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!

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Ok, that pretty much gets us caught up.  We did go to a small family reunion today at my grandmother's assisted living home.  I'll upload pics of that some time soon.  I saw cousins and great aunts and uncles that I hadn't seen in a long time.

Aaaannnnd we had lunch at Luby's.  You're jealous.  You know you are.

VBS this week

I've been directing 60 Second Graders at Vacation Bible School all week.

There are MANY observations I could make and MULTIPLE posts I could write. But I'll edit myself to just a few benign comments.



1. I LOVE SECOND GRADE!! It has always been and will always be my FAVORITE age to teach!!



2. The quiet clap and "Give me 5" are the best universal discipline tools. Ever.



3. We will always need more volunteers. Adults. Not youth. Teenagers are great. But we need more adults. And I don't know what the answer is to that dilemma.



4. Vacation Bible School is about survival. Don't lose anyone. Don't kill anyone. Talk about Jesus. That's all that can really be expected of you.

There is no reason-- and you will only make yourself crazy if you try-- to think of ways to make the system run more efficiently as the week progresses. Sure, there may be a better way. But just roll with the punches. You learn from this year, and do a few things differently next year.

Ultimately, it's just a week.

If you survive it, pat yourself on the back. Because, even with the best planning and intentions, you will never totally master it. There will always be something about the week that makes it challenging. But that's part of the fun, right???

;)